Wooster Whales finish strong with 9th-place Freedlander Meet showing

WOOSTER -- During the latter portion of the Freedlander finale, the Wooster Whales got a boost from the unlikeliest of sources -- a summer thunderstorm.

While a front came through in the later afternoon on Sunday and delayed the 46th annual Freedlander Meet by more than two hours, the rest and milder temperatures turned out to be a boon for the Whales, who finished ninth in the 36-team field this weekend. Wooster tallied 281 points, while SwimStrong (1,287.5), Dublin Community (1,031.5), Lake Shore (641.5), Vacationland (347) and North East Ohio Nemesis (332.5) rounded out the top five squads.

"With the rest and drop in temperatures, our times have improved," Wooster coach Rob Harrington said. "They were able to take a break, rehydrate and we're seeing some pretty decent times."

As she did on Saturday, Gabrielle Sibilia was the big standout for the Whales Sunday. Sibilia won the 200 free with a time of 2:17.54, while also logging second in the 100 free (1:02.28) and fourth in the 100 fly (1:08.89).

"(The 200 free's) not her strongest event, but she won," Harrington said. "It's a great way to finish the meet."

Another top performance in the afternoon was Tyler Foster, who was 17th in the 13-14 100 free (1:06.40) and ninth in the 13-14 100 fly (1:12.32). Josh Lantis was spots ahead of Foster in the 100 fly, timing a 1:11.61. Nathaniel Cornelius was ninth in the 13-14 100 breast (1:26.38) and 11th in the 13-14 200 free (2:24.61). Nathaniel Cornelius, Lantis, Benjamin Serafinchon and Benjamin Cornelius combined to take second in the 13-14 200 free relay (2:11.51).

Before his older sister made headlines later in the day, Johnny Sibilia made waves at the outset. The 10-year-old finished 12th in the 10U 100 free (1:25.20), 15th in the 50 breast (55.74), fifth in the 50 fly (43.61) and eighth in the 200 individual medley (3:34.72). As accomplished as his older sister is, Johnny may be the most competitive of the eight Sibilia children. The younger brother doesn't hide the fact that he loves trying to keep up with his older siblings.

"I play a lot of sports and I don't like to lose," Johnny said.

He added the unique aspect of the Freedlander Meet is the opportunity to compete against swimmers from all over.

"I like competing against people from all around," he said.

Johnny said the butterfly is his favorite event because it's a more specialized stroke.

"Since freestyle's the main stroke a lot of people do, it's a lot more competitive," he said. "Not as many people do the fly and I'm good at it."

Gracie Chelf also had a big day, taking third in the 10U 100 back (1:33.35) and combining with Gretchen Chelf, Emma Chelf and Hailey Persinger to win the 200 free relay (2:52.38). The youngster said what makes the Freedlander Meet such an event is the number of swimmers there.

"It's exciting to swim at a meet with all these people here," Gracie Chelf said. "This is one of my favorite meets, along with the Mid-Ohio Swim League Championships."

Harrington commended the volunteers who've been instrumental all weekend, but especially for battling the elements on Sunday and continuing to make the event a summer staple for the city for almost a half-century.

"The meet has run extremely smoothly," he said. "It's a great event for the city of Wooster, bringing in 860 athletes. It's a testament to our volunteers that stayed through the storm."

Andrew Vogel can be reached at 330-287-1624 or avogel@the-daily-record.com. Follow him on Twitter at @andvogel.